To the Ends of the Earth
by ChloeHeidrich1228
Summary: Officer Aislynn Rivers of the NYPD has been reassigned to NCIS in DC. Her first crime scene leads her and a very special agent to a trip to Ocean City, MD, where they pose as models to gain the trust of a serial rapist. Then, follow the rest of Aislynn and Tony's journey, from a deadly disease, to New York City, to Hughes' Disease.
1. Episode One: Under Covers

_**episode one: Undercovers**_

_**Chapter 1- Enter the Third Degree Black Belt**_

Thirty-five-year-old Aislynn Rachael Fanale walked briskly through the Naval Yard in Washington D.C. She was to be the newest member of the NCIS Major Case Response Team. Her commanding agent was Leroy Jethro Gibbs, a man she was all-too familiar with. Aislynn found the government agency's building easily and flashed her NYPD badge to the security guard at the elevator. Following the strict orders given to her, she rode the elevator up to the offices.

When the elevator doors opened, Aislynn was greeted by an older, graying man in a forest green, cotton t-shirt and a tan blazer, with piercing blue eyes. Immediately, she flew forward, dropping her black handbag in the process, and hugged the man. "Gibbs!" she exclaimed.

Gibbs reciprocated the embrace. "Good to see you, Aislynn."

"Boss, I…" a tall, dark-haired man started, jogging towards them. "Who's the chick, boss?"

Gibbs smacked the man in the back of the head. "Aislynn, this is-"

"Very Special Agent Anthony DiNozzo," the man said, holding out his hand. "Call me Tony."

Aislynn shook Tony's hand. "Aislynn Rivers."

"Aislynn will be working with us for a while, DiNozzo," Gibbs told Tony.

"A new Probie, huh, Boss?" Tony asked, following Gibbs through the offices to his desk.

"Actually, no, Tony," Aislynn pursued the two men. "I have eleven years' experience in the NYPD."

Tony raised an eyebrow. "Really? What department?"

"Special Victims."

"Six years, huh?" Tony leaned back in his chair and propped his feet up.

"Yes. Is there a problem with that?"

"No. No problem, although, I would picture someone who spent eleven years with rape victims and child molesters to be a bit more…" he paused, looking at Aislynn's yellow skirt, silk turquoise blouse, grey cardigan, and three-inch pumps, "hardcore."

"Would it help your image if I told you I was a third-degree black belt in karate, hapkido, and taekwondo?" Aislynn crossed her arms.

"Yes."

"Well, I'm not."

Tony sat, dumbfounded, for a minute, before turning his attention to Gibbs. "So, how do you two know each other?"

"Care to guess, DiNozzo?" Gibbs asked, scribbling something onto a piece of paper.

"Well, she's too young to be one of your ex-wives, so, I'm going to guess family friend?"

"Nope," Aislynn shook her head.

"Daughter of your mother-in-law's crazy ex-husband?"

She raised her eyebrow at Gibbs, who rolled his eyes. "She's my niece, DiNozzo."

Tony looked taken aback for a minute before simply saying: "Oh."

Gibbs stood and motioned for Aislynn to follow him. He walked back toward the elevator, which he, DiNozzo, and Aislynn took to another floor. When the silver doors opened, she saw many different computers and pieces of crime solving technology. Heavy-metal music was blaring through the lab and a girl with black hair and a red, plaid skirt was dancing while drinking a Caf-POW.

"Abby!" Gibbs barked. Immediately the girl stopped.

"Oh, hey, Gibbs. What's up?" she asked, looking at Aislynn curiously.

"You wanted to meet our newest team member," Gibbs posed this statement as more of a question.

"Oh!" Abby rushed over to Aislynn and shook her hand. "Hi! I'm Abby Sciuto."

"Aislynn Fanale," she replied, smiling. Aislynn could tell she was going to like Abby.

"That's Tim," Abby pointed to a man with short, light brown hair sitting in front of a computer, trying to make it not obvious that he was looking at Aislynn.

"Does Tim have a last name?"

"McGee," Tim said, standing and walking forward.

"Just call him McGeek," Tony interjected happily.

"It's nice to meet you, _McGee_," Aislynn said, shaking Tim's hand. He looked familiar. "I'm sorry, but have we met before?"

McGee looked confused. "No, I don't believe so."

"I know I've seen you somewhere before…" Aislynn thought for a second before the answer came to her. "_Deep Six_! Of course! I've read your book."

Tony started laughing and McGee looked sheepish. "You did?"

"Yes. One of the rape victims I worked with recommended it to me. It's very good."

"Well, thank you," McGee smiled and walked back to the computer.

"Has she met Ducky yet?" Abby asked Gibbs.

"Not yet," Gibbs replied, turning and beginning to walk out the doors to the elevator. "He's next on the tour."

"What's a 'Ducky'?" Aislynn asked Tony as they both followed Gibbs to the elevator.

"Ducky is our medical examiner, Dr. Mallard," DiNozzo explained.

"Oh!" Aislynn chuckled. "I get it! A mallard is a type of…"

"Duck, yeah," Tony interrupted her as they got into the elevator.

Gibbs and Tony took Aislynn to meet Ducky and his assistant, Jimmy Palmer. Their next and final stop was the director's office. The director, Leon Vance, had an exclusive office on the upper level of the MCRT's office. When the trio arrived, the director greeted Aislynn with a firm handshake.

"It's good to meet you, Agent Fanale," Director Vance said, motioning for Tony, Aislynn, and Gibbs to sit.

"It's nice to meet you, as well, Director," Aislynn replied, continuing to stand.

The director looked at her for a second before chuckling lightly. "You really _are_ related to Gibbs. Very well, then. I suppose you want to get down to business."

Aislynn nodded. "Please."

Director Vance nodded. "Right. Well, here are your badge and firearm. I hope you don't mind that we used the same photo as is on your NYPD id."

"Not at all," Aislynn said, taking the black leather id sleeve and holstered 9 mm.

"Is that all, Leon?" Gibbs asked, opening the door for Aislynn and Tony.

"Well, no, but-" Aislynn heard the director start to speak before the door clicked shut, cutting him off.


	2. Show Us Why You're Here, Probie

_**Chapter 2-Show Us Why you're Here, Probie**_

As the trio was walking down the stairs to the MCRT offices, Gibbs' phone started to ring loudly. "Yeah, Gibbs," Gibbs answered. He listened intently before slamming the lid of his cell down violently and saying quickly to Tony, "Go get McGee and have him meet us at the car."

Tony nodded and jogged off down the stairs towards the elevator. Aislynn followed Gibbs to his desk. "What do you want me to do?"

"You're with me. We're one short today," Gibbs threw her a black NCIS ball cap.

Aislynn caught the hat easily and placed it crookedly on top of her head. "Right."

Gibbs led her out of the building and to the parking lot, where about fifty black cars were parked. She followed him to one in the approximate middle, which he unlocked and started. Aislynn got in the passenger side and Gibbs drove around to the front of the lot to let the waiting McGee and Tony get in the car.

Gibbs drove well above the speed limit to the crime scene, debriefing the team on the way. Apparently, Mrs. Alison McCabe, a petty officer's wife and a model for an off-brand of nail polish, was killed at a photo shoot in Bethesda. The four arrived at the crime scene in a matter of minutes, and it was a while before Ducky and Palmer got there. Gibbs assigned Tony and McGee to take pictures and look around inside the hotel room, while he and Aislynn interviewed the petty officer and the neighbors.

The petty officer's answers were typical of a grieving spouse. There wasn't a bad word mentioned, and he spoke highly of all his wife's friends and coworkers. The other models and hotel guests didn't say much to help the case, so after taking their statements, Gibbs and Aislynn went inside to see what Tony and McGee had found.

"So, what's up, Ducky?" Gibbs asked the medical examiner when they got back into the house.

"It appears as if she were raped before being murdered," Ducky replied, pointing to a rip in the woman's shirt.

Gibbs looked at Aislynn, who sighed and put a hand on her forehead. "You know, I came here to get away from this sort of crap," she said, glancing back to Gibbs before kneeling beside the body. "You're positive she was raped, Ducky?"

"Almost certain, although we'll have to wait to get her back to the morgue to get a rape kit."

"Of course," Aislynn nodded.

"Duck, finish up here. We'll meet you back at the yard," Gibbs told him. Aislynn stood and followed McGee and Tony back to the car.

"It looks like your knowledge will be crucial this investigation," McGee told Aislynn, patting her on the back.

"Yeah," Aislynn replied. "Although, I wish it was under better circumstances."

"Of course," McGee opened the passenger door for Aislynn.

The team arrived back in the NCIS offices, Gibbs immediately looked to Aislynn. "Yes?" she questioned her uncle, raising an eyebrow.

"You know rape cases, show us why you're here," he said simply.

Aislynn's eyes widened in shock. She thought for a minute and then spoke. "Well, McGee, search the databases for any murders with the same MO. We could be dealing with a serial killer here," McGee nodded and went to his desk, immediately setting out to find the needed information. "Tony, find out everything you can about this woman. By then end of this, I want you inside this chick's head," Tony sighed and begrudgingly set to work. "And, Gibbs…"she wracked her brain for something her superior could do. Gibbs was neither understanding nor good with technology. "Get her phone records and bank statements. See who and what she's been in contact with for the past six months," Gibbs sat at his desk and slowly began to type.

"What are you going to do?" Tony asked.

"I'm helping you," Aislynn sat down at the desk directly across from Tony's and started up the computer. She noticed Gibbs look up swiftly before going back to his computer.

"Umm, Aislynn?" McGee said after about fifteen minutes.

"Yes, McGee?" Aislynn stood and walked over to his desk.

"There have been four similar murders within the past two years," McGee hit a button and four women's driver's licenses appeared on the television between McGee and Tony's desks. "All four were raped and murdered."

"Why weren't they reported?" Aislynn asked, looking at the four women. All of them were beautiful. They were all blonde, with deep blue eyes, the opposite of Aislynn's own emerald ones. "And what's the connection between these four and Mrs. McCabe?"

"Well," McGee hit another button and Mrs. McCabe's picture appeared on the television beside the other four, "Besides the obvious that they were all blonde-haired and blue eyed? They were all married and models."

"Any connection between what they were modeling?"

"Only the photographer."

Aislynn stared at the pictures for a second. When McGee didn't continue speaking, she looked at him. "And…?"

"Oh! His name is Ron DeRubis. He owns his own photography studio in Bethesda where two of the five women were killed."

"Address?" McGee scrawled the address down and handed it to Aislynn. "Thanks, McGee. Gibbs, are you…"

Gibbs interrupted her. "Take who you want."

Aislynn nodded and thought. McGee would be better company, but DiNozzo would probably be a better interrogator and better at finding things. Gibbs would be better in general, but if Aislynn's memory served her correctly, he could be vicious at times.

"DiNozzo, go get a car," she commanded. "McGee, while we're gone, see what else you can dig up on our photographer. And if you get done with that, you can start working on Tony's share of the work."

"On it!" McGee began typing furiously.

Aislynn took the elevator to the ground level and got into the car Tony had waiting for her. She showed him the address and they sped off.


	3. Mrs Mr 'OglesEverythingHeSees'

_**Chapter 3-The Wife of Mr. 'Ogles-Everything-He-Sees'**_

Tony and Aislynn left DeRubis' house a half hour after they had arrived. The man had said nothing that would cause them to be suspicious, yet they were. "I don't know, Tony," Aislynn said, staring out the window of the car as they drove back to NCIS headquarters. "He sort of creeped me out."

"Yeah, I got the same feeling," Tony looked at her as they stopped at a red light.

"Call it a gut feeling, but I know he did it."

"Usually, Gibbs' gut feelings are right, and you're related to him, so…"

"In theory, I should have the same mystical ability?" Aislynn finished.

"Yeah."

They pulled into NCIS headquarters minutes later. When they got back to their offices, Gibbs and McGee were waiting for them. Gibbs had a small stack of papers in his hand and McGee was smiling widely.

"Phone records show that Mrs. McCabe received twenty calls from DeRubis in the past three days," Gibbs said, handing Aislynn the stack of papers. He had highlighted all twenty calls in bright yellow.

"Which doesn't prove much, seeing as he was her photographer," she replied, flipping through the papers.

"No, but this might help," McGee said, motioning her over to his computer.

"She took out a restraining order on him?" Aislynn raised an eyebrow. "How does that work? They had to be within 500 feet of each other. No picture comes out decent from that far away."

"This has a clause in it that allows for no less than 10 feet between them at work," McGee said.

"So, she had a problem with him?" Aislynn asked. "So what? A lot of people have issues with their coworkers."

"Yes, but the other four women also had restraining orders out on DeRubis," McGee said, pulling up the other four documents.

Aislynn hit him in the back of the head. "You should've said that earlier!"

Gibbs chuckled, and McGee glared at him before continuing speaking. "I'm not done. Because of the five restraining orders, Director Vance has given us permission to do an undercover study of him. In Abby's words, 'something hinky's going on here'."

"Okay," Aislynn said, looking at him. "And just how do you plan on doing that?"

"Well, someone's going to have to pose as a married model," McGee answered.

"Who?"

"You're the only woman here, so…" Tony said, going to his desk.

"But I'm not married!" Aislynn pointed out. "Nor am I a model!"

"You can fake it," McGee said, taking her picture with his cell phone. He looked at it. "You look nice on camera."

Aislynn raised an eyebrow to Tony, but otherwise let the comment slide. "I'm still not married."

Gibbs tossed a box to Tony, who caught it easily. He opened it and walked forward. Kneeling, Tony said, "Aislynn Rivers, will you be my fake wife?" The box he was holding contained a gorgeous, twisted, white gold and diamond engagement ring. The dual twists were full of small diamonds and in the center was a blue, circle-cut diamond. Beside the engagement ring was a white gold wedding band.

"You mean I'm going to have to pretend to be married to 'Mr. Ogles-Every-Woman-He-Sees'?" Aislynn protested. Gibbs nodded, causing her to sigh. She slipped the two rings on her finger. "Fine. Okay, so today's Thursday, where and when is DeRubis' next photo shoot?"

McGee typed something into his computer. "It starts Tuesday in Ocean City. They're doing a competition for the next perfume models."

"Oh joy," Aislynn said, feigning enthusiasm. "Although, it IS at the beach, so that's a good thing."

"We're getting your hotel reservations and registrations now," McGee continued. "You should go home and pack. The hotel is expecting you to check in Saturday afternoon. Come back here before you leave. The director has some things he wants me to give you."

Aislynn and Tony both nodded before walking toward the elevator.

A half an hour later, Aislynn returned to the navy yard with the trunk of her dark blue convertible half-full of her luggage. Tony was already in the squad room, sitting with his feet propped on his desk and his NCIS cap over his eyes. Deciding to mess with him, Aislynn silently walked up behind him and began to rub his shoulders. He jumped, surprised. "What the-" he exclaimed, turning around rapidly.

"You know, you should be less jumpy around your wife, Tony," Aislynn said, walking toward McGee. "So what did the director want to give us?"

McGee held out a small black bag. Aislynn took it and looked inside. "Hair-dye?"

"You need to be blonde for this to work," he replied easily. "There's more in that bag."

Aislynn dug to the bottom and found two little, white rectangles. One had an orange dot on the top. "What are these?"

"One pair," McGee took the one with the dot, "are color contacts. You also need to have blue eyes," Aislynn rolled her eyes. "But both are new technology."

"How so?" Aislynn asked curiously.

"They've both got video cameras implanted in them. They're wired into MTAC. You wear them, and we can see exactly what you're seeing in real time," he said, opening the orange dotted case and handing it to me.

"Well, if I have to fulfill certain marital duties, I am not wearing these things _all_ the time," Aislynn said, shutting the case and slipping it into her pocket. "Any more gadgets you would like to give us?"

"Just standard ear buds. I'll be following you there after a few days posing as your brother just in case you need back-up," McGee said. "That way we can be in contact."

"Right, well, when should I dye my hair?" Aislynn asked, waving the box of blonde hair dye.

"Tonight at the hotel is fine," McGee told her. "You're booked for tonight into tomorrow at a hotel half-way."

"Okay, that works. Any last words, or should we just leave now?"

"Be careful," Gibbs added, looking at her.

"We will," Aislynn reassured him.

"Now," Tony said, taking his contact case from McGee's hand and breaking the slightly warm moment between Gibbs and his niece, "there's only one important question to be asked."

"And what would that be?" Aislynn asked her new fake husband.

"Whose car are we taking?"

"Mine, definitely," Aislynn told him.

"No, we're taking mine," Tony argued.

"I have an oh-eight mustang convertible. What do you have? Some piece of oldies crap?" Tony smiled sheepishly. "Yeah, we're taking mine."


	4. Womanizer and Swedish Whore

_**Chapter 4-The Womanizing Manwhore and the Stereotypical Swedish Whore**_

Aislynn and Tony checked into the Hilton suite McGee had booked for them at around nine that night. Seeing as they left at around six, they made good time, even with Tony's constant need to have a bathroom break. Aislynn moped around slightly when they got into their room. She really didn't want to dye her hair. However, it was for the best, so she sucked it up and went into the bathroom.

Half an hour later, Aislynn came out of the bathroom with her previously curly, brown hair, curly and blonde. She felt like one of those stereotypical Swedish whores.

When he heard the bathroom door shut, Tony looked up from SportsCenter. "You look…" he looked her up and down. "hot. Your new blondeness really accentuates your…" he waved in the direction of Aislynn's chest.

"Go ahead and say it, Tony. We _are_ married now," Aislynn sat down beside him on the couch. "You think my boobs are amazing."

"It can't be an uncommon comment about you. I mean," he chuckled, "come on."

Aislynn rolled her eyes. "Typical man. You know, now that we're married, we should probably learn at least something more about each other. You know, other than the fact that you're a womanizing manwhore and I have…" Aislynn glanced down quickly.

"Okay," Tony turned to look at her. Aislynn stood and went to the fridge, where she produced two bottles of beer.

"I propose a drinking game," Aislynn said, opening her bottle. "We'll play 'I've Never'."

"Never heard of it," Tony popped the top off his beer.

"I say a true statement; something like, 'I've never been to Disney World,' and if you've been there, you take a drink."

"Sounds easy enough," Tony said, nodding.

"It is. Do you wanna start, or should I?"

"Go ahead," Tony gestured for her to start.

"Okay…" Aislynn thought for a second. "I've never had sex with a blow up doll."

Tony lifted the bottle to his lips. "That was cruel."

Aislynn shrugged. "I've gotta know where you've been if we're going to be an effective couple. Your turn."

"Hmm… I've never been to Panama City."

Aislynn took a sip of her beer. "I've never had a committed relationship." Tony drank, to Aislynn's surprise. "Really?"

"Yeah. Twice."

"_Really?_ With whom?"

"I was engaged to my high school music teacher." Aislynn's eyes widened. "It's not as bad as it sounds. My senior year was her first year teaching."

"Well, that's not so bad, then," Aislynn said, shrugging. "Who was the second?"

"I wasn't engaged to her, but we were pretty serious. She was the daughter of La Grenouille."

"The arms dealer?" Tony nodded. "Did you love her?" He nodded again.

"I'm really sorry, Tony," Aislynn put a hand on Tony's knee. "How'd you guys break up? That is, if you don't mind me asking."

"It's fine. She, uh, accused me of murdering her father."

"Did you?"

Tony looked at her. He seemed affronted. "No."

Aislynn nodded. They were silent for a second before she broke the peace. "Well, it was a good game while it lasted, I guess."

Tony said nothing and yet again, they were back to silence. Minutes passed until the silence was once again broken, this time by Aislynn's cell phone. "_He's got the red, white, blue, flyin' high on the farm. Semper Fi tattooed on his left arm. Spends a little more at the store for a tag in the back that says 'Made in the U.S.A'. He won't buy nothin' that he can't fix with WD40 and a Craftsman wrench. He ain't prejudice, he's just made in America_."

Tony raised an eyebrow. "Who's…?"

"Gibbs," Aislynn answered simply before answering the phone. She talked with her uncle for a few minutes before they hung up and she put her phone back in her pocket.

"What was that about?" Tony asked curiously.

"Oh, nothing. He just wanted to let us know that in addition to killing those women, he apparently killed their husbands, too," Aislynn sighed. "And that McGee's not coming after all."

Tony rolled his eyes. "But the petty officer is still alive."

"He was lucky enough to not be home at the time."

"Oh," Tony said simply. "Can I ask you a question?"

"Sure, go ahead."

"You don't refer to him as 'Uncle Gibbs'. You just call him Gibbs. Why?"

Aislynn looked down at her lap for a second. "It's not something I'm really proud of. He and I had a falling out shortly after my eighteenth birthday. We were really close before it, but then…" Aislynn cut off. "We've just never been the same since."

"I'm sorry," Tony said. He looked genuinely sympathetic.

Tony and Aislynn finished their beers, talking about their lives and past experiences in the police force. They soon went to bed, preparing for the long days ahead.


	5. ManWhoring Hurts

_**Chapter 5- Man-whoring Hurts**_

"So, what are we going to do for two hours?" Aislynn asked Tony as they walked out of the hotel's lobby. They were not allowed to check in until three in the afternoon, even if they _were _models.

"I don't know," Tony said, starting the car. "I'm pretty sure my stomach just ate that part of my brain."

"Would you like to go out for lunch?" Aislynn put on her leopard print Dolce & Gabbana sunglasses.

"Have you learned nothing?"

"Right. Stupid question. Let me rephrase: Where would you like to go for lunch?" Aislynn hit a button on the dashboard, making the top of her car retract backwards.

"Well, let's see…" Tony thought for a second. "We could go to Hooters."

Aislynn patted his cheek lightly. "Sweetie, I'm telling you this both as your loving wife and a friend: never suggest taking the woman you love to Hooters. What's your next choice?"

"I don't know what else they have here."

"There's Big Peckers, Brass Balls Saloon, Bad Ass Café, The Salty Dog Tavern…" Aislynn named from memory. "Ooh, and there's the Dough Roller."

"And where would you like to go?" Tony asked.

"Well, Big Peckers has good wings, but the Dough Roller has the best pizza on the pier," she gushed.

"Then, I guess we're going to Dough Roller's," Tony said, turning the car and driving to second street.

They arrived to Dough Rollers about three minutes later. They were open, but if one looked in the window, he or she would not believe it. The place was almost completely empty, which was expected, as it was mid-April. The two were taken to a table almost immediately, and Tony took the liberty of ordering a medium pepperoni pizza.

Tony decided to pick up where the conversation had left off the previous night. "So," he started, stirring his Pepsi. "Do you have any nicknames?"

"Nicknames?" Aislynn thought for a second. "The only one that comes to mind is Fanalie and I absolutely hate it. Most people only call me that, though, because they mispronounce my last name."

"Wow. That's pretty boring," Tony said, folding a napkin into a paper football.

Aislynn made a field goal with her thumbs and pointer fingers. "Yeah, it really is."

"Well…" Tony thought for a second while flicking the folded napkin directly through Aislynn's fingers. "Ace, I guess you have a nickname now."

"Ace?" Aislynn picked up the paper football from the floor beside her chair. "I like it."

"Good, because I wasn't making another one."

Aislynn laughed. They continued talking long after Tony had eaten the last slice of pizza. Aislynn could tell, just by the way she was able to discuss anything with Tony without being judged overly-harshly, that Tony was the type of guy she could picture herself with, if she ever got so desperate. He made her laugh, which wasn't easy to do. Obviously, he had commitment issues, but that was fine with Aislynn because so did she.

The days to Saturday flew by quickly, with Tony and Aislynn both growing closer as friends, and a more effective fake couple. Aislynn had determined that DeRubis had checked into the room just beside her and Tony's the day before they had arrived. Tony came up with the brilliant idea of feigning sex every-other night to make it look like we were a couple "in love".

Saturday, the modeling company had the preliminary photo shoot scheduled. The twelve couples they had selected would each take fifty pictures. The company would pick the best picture from each and post them. They would then pick the top ten couples and send the last two home. It worked, in a way, like the television show, _America's Next Top Model._ Tony thoroughly enjoyed seeing the other models in bikinis on the beach. Every time he would get distracted, Aislynn would draw his attention back by running a hand seductively through his hair.

After the photo shoot was over, Aislynn and Tony were invited by the other models to dinner at the Brass Balls Saloon. They accepted gratefully; DeRubis was also going to be there. Half-way through afternoon drinks at the Saloon, Tony abruptly got up, whispering to Aislynn that he had to use the 'little agent's room.' Ten minutes passed, though Aislynn wasn't worried. What Tony had to do in the restroom was completely up to him. However, when he wasn't back after forty-five minutes, Aislynn started to search for him.

She first checked the restroom. No Tony. She went to the outside terrace. No Tony. The Bad Ass Café was next. Still no Tony. After a solid five minutes of searching, she found him in a dark corner of the underground lounge, with one of the other models on top of him. Tony's shirt was ripped open, and she was sucking on his neck.

"Oh, that's lovely," Aislynn said loud enough for the two to hear.

"Ace! Oh my God!" Tony exclaimed, pushing the model off him.

He followed her back to the hotel, apologizing the entire way. When the door shut behind them, Aislynn turned on him.

"Just answer me one question, Tony," Aislynn pleaded, tears threatening to spill over from her eyes.

"What's that?" Tony snapped. He was pissed, and he let it show, causing Aislynn to get even angrier with him.

"Did you have sex with her?" Tony didn't answer. He didn't have to; his face gave her the affirmative she had been dreading.

Without real knowledge of what she was doing, Aislynn haphazardly put on her sneakers. Hastily, she shoved her wallet, cell, and room key into her pockets and walked out the door. Once her feet hit the weathered boards of the city's most popular attraction, Aislynn broke into a brisk jog. She had no idea where she was going; she just knew she had to _go_. The only things that crossed Aislynn's mind in that short span of time were the sounds of her feet hitting the wooden planks beneath her and her immense loathing of her coworker


	6. Get All the Sighs and Moans Just Right

_**Chapter 6- Get All the Sighs and Moans Just Right**_

Fifteen minutes and three and a half miles later, Aislynn found herself at the end of the pier, drenched with sweat and heart in her throat. She wasn't doing much of anything, really—just leaning against the railing, staring at the waves crashing in the distance and thinking.

She thought about calling Gibbs and telling him she gave up on the mission and where to stick his stupid protégée.

She thought about DeRubis and how he had gotten away with five plus murders and four rapes before NCIS had gotten the cases.

However, mostly, Aislynn thought about Tony and how foolish she had been for thinking, if only for a second, that he could ever love someone like her. They were, aside from a shared passion for the silver screen and similar commitment issues, the complete antithesis of each other.

Aislynn took off the fake engagement ring Tony had given her. It sparkled in the late afternoon light beautifully, which accented the pale blue tones of the stone. She gazed into the facets, contemplating her next move. She knew that it could make or break the mission, but also that it was her decision. Aislynn could almost hear Gibbs' voice in her head.

"Do what you have to do for the mission," he was saying. "Don't jeopardize it. You can always quit the agency later if you need to."

Aislynn sighed and considered her options for a minute. She shook her head and slipped the ring back on her finger before jogging back down the pier and back to the hotel. She entered the room almost silently, noticing that there was no ambient noise when she walked in.

Aislynn couldn't help the door banging shut loudly, though, and milliseconds after, she heard the television click on, and SportsCenter's energized tones come lightly through the speakers.

"Tony?" Aislynn asked softly, poking her head around the corner of the hallway.

Tony, who was lounging on the couch in a manner that led Aislynn to believe he'd just arrived, looked up at the sound of her voice. When he saw her, he immediately sprang up and walked forward, enveloping her in a tight embrace.

"Don't do that ever again," he commanded, holding Aislynn at arm's length. "I was just about to go out looking for you."

Aislynn was taken aback slightly by Tony's sudden show of emotion. "Really?"

"Yeah, Ace, of course," Tony said sincerely. "There's a rapist out there."

Aislynn smiled and hugged him. "Well, I'm glad you were concerned, and I'm sorry I left. I just had to go think."

Tony nodded. "Gibbs builds boats and you go for a run."

"Exactly," Aislynn nodded into his chest.

They broke apart, and Tony grabbed her hand, leading her toward the door. "Where are we going?"

"You'll see. I saw a commercial for this place while you were gone," Tony led her out of the hotel and across Baltimore Avenue. They walked north on the street until they got to Talbot street, and they turned right. Aislynn saw the neon lights immediately. A bar named The Office was about halfway down the street. There was a sign in the window that read 'Karaoke Saturdays'.

"Tony!" Aislynn protested. "No! No karaoke!"

"Yeah, come on, it'll be fun!" he replied happily, pulling her through the door of the bar.

There was a DJ in the back of the club, working the karaoke system. Currently, a man in his mid-forties was at the mic doing a terrible rendition of the Beatles' "Blackbird."

"I'll do it if you do," Tony told Aislynn before ordering drinks.

"Alright, as long as we're both making complete idiots of ourselves," Aislynn replied, shaking Tony's outstretched hand.

They walked up to the DJ and wrote down their requests on his sign-up sheet. Aislynn would go first, followed by Tony. It wasn't their turn for a while, so they settled down at a booth and drank lightly while watching other people get up and sing their hearts out, more often than not, terribly.

A half-hour after they arrived, it was Aislynn's turn to get up to the mic. She cleared her throat and motioned for the music to begin.

_It's been a long time since I came around  
>Been a long time but I'm back in town<br>This time I'm not leaving without you  
>You taste like whiskey when you kiss me, oh<br>I'll give anything again to be your baby doll_

_This time I'm not leaving without you  
><em>

_You said, "Sit back down where you belong  
>In the corner of my bar with your high heels on<br>Sit back down on the couch where we  
>Made love the first time<br>And you said to me:  
>"'There's something, something about this place<br>Something about lonely nights and my lipstick on your face  
>Something, something about my cool Nebraska guy<br>Yeah, something about, baby, you and I'"_

_It's been two years since I let you go,  
>I couldn't listen to a joke or rock 'n' roll<br>And muscle cars drove a truck right through my heart  
>On my birthday you sang me "A Heart of Gold"<em>

_With a guitar humming and no clothes_

_This time I'm not leaving without you, oh, oh, oh, _

_Sit back down where you belong  
>In the corner of my bar with your high heels on<br>Sit back down on the couch where we  
>Made love for the first time and you said to me,<br>"There's something, something about this place  
>Something about lonely nights and my lipstick on your face<br>Something, something about my cool Nebraska guy  
>Yeah something about, baby you and I"<br>_

_You and I,  
>You, you, and I,<br>You, you, and I,  
>You, you, and I,<br>You and I  
>You, you, and I<br>Oh yeah I'd rather die, without you and I_

_We gotta whole lot of money, but we still pay rent  
>'Cause you can't buy a house in heaven<br>There's only three men that I'ma serve my whole life  
>It's my daddy and Nebraska and Jesus Christ.<em>

_Something, something about the chase  
>I'm a New York woman born to run you down<br>Still want my lipstick all over your face  
>There's something, something about<br>Just knowing when it's right  
>So put your drinks for Nebraska<br>For Nebraska, Nebraska, I love you._

You and I,  
>You, you, and I<br>Baby I'd rather die  
>Without you and I.<br>You and I,  
>You, you, and I<br>Nebraska I'd rather die  
>Without you and I.<p>

It's been a long time since I came around  
>Been a long time but I'm back in town<br>And this time I'm not leaving' without you

Aislynn stepped down from the stage to a round of thunderous applause. She returned to the table where Tony was waiting.

"You never said you could sing," Tony complimented her, standing up.

"You never asked," Aislynn replied, patting his cheek. Tony smiled and began to walk to the stage.

The music started immediately after the DJ introduced Tony. The song he had picked had quite a long intro, so Aislynn chuckled as she watched Tony stand behind the mic awkwardly.

_I feel so unsure  
>As I take your hand and lead you to the dance floor<br>As the music dies, something in your eyes  
>Calls to mind a silver screen and all those sad goodbyes<em>

I'm never gonna dance again  
>Cause guilty feet have got no rhythm<br>Though it's easy to pretend  
>I know you're not a fool<p>

I should have known better than to cheat a friend  
>And waste the chance that I'd been given<br>So I'm never gonna dance again  
>The way I danced with you<p>

Time can never mend  
>The careless whispers of a good friend<br>To the heart and mind  
>Ignorance is kind<br>And there's no comfort in the truth  
>Pain is all you'll find<p>

I'm never gonna dance again  
>Cause guilty feet have got no rhythm<br>Though it's easy to pretend  
>I know you're not a fool<p>

I should have known better than to cheat a friend  
>And waste the chance that I'd been given<br>So I'm never gonna dance again  
>The way I danced with you<p>

Tonight the music seems so loud  
>I wish that we could lose the crowd<br>Maybe it's better this way  
>We'd hurt each other with the things we want to say<p>

We could have been so good together  
>We could have lived this dance forever<br>But now who's gonna dance with me?  
>Please stay<p>

I'm never gonna dance again  
>Cause guilty feet have got no rhythm<br>Though it's easy to pretend  
>I know you're not a fool<p>

I should have known better than to cheat a friend  
>And waste the chance that I'd been given<br>So I'm never gonna dance again  
>The way I danced with you<p>

The whole time Tony was singing, he had managed to keep eye contact with Aislynn. When he jumped lightly off the stage and came back to the table, she smiled widely at him.

"That was beautiful, Tony," she hugged him tightly.

"I'm really sorry that I hurt your feelings, Ace," Tony said, returning the embrace. When they broke apart, Tony interlaced their fingers. "Come on, let's get out of here."

They returned to their joint hotel room, and Tony fidgeted with the key card. Aislynn glanced to the left to see DeRubis standing there watching them carefully. They both knew that they would have to put on a show to make it seem like they were a couple coming back from a night out on the town.

Forgoing the key card momentarily, Tony inched closer to Aislynn and grinned when he was inches away from her face. He pushed her gently against the door before crashing his lips to hers. She brought her hands up to his neck to play with the hair that resided there while his went to her hips. Tony bit her bottom lip to gain entrance as one of his hands slid up to rest on her waist underneath her shirt.

They soon got lost in the kiss, not even paying attention to where DeRubis was in the hallway. Tony licked Aislynn's lips to sooth the ministrations he had left there before his tongue began dueling with hers.

Tony inserted the key card behind her back and pushed her inside the room. He slammed the door behind them and pushed her against the wall. He continued his assault on her lips before moving his lips down to leave a trail on her neck. He focused on one spot, nipping and sucking before kissing over to sooth the reddened area.

Aislynn moved her hands to his face and directed it back up to hers. Somewhere she knew that this was going beyond what they needed to do to convince DeRubis, but she didn't care. They spent ten minutes making out before they pulled apart. Aislynn backed herself up, trying to remember why she had been so angry with him earlier.

"So, sex?" Aislynn asked as she backed away from him.

"What?" He asked breathlessly.

"Sex. Couples have sex, so logically we should simulate sex," She informed him as she climbed onto the bed and begun to jump, immediately making the bed squeak.

He laughed and joined her before she made a moaning sound. It took him a few seconds to realize that it was all a part of her fake sex. He joined in with the noises, adding some grunting and moaning. When the sounds coming out of Aislynn's mouth registered in Tony's mind, his eyes went wide and there was tightness in his pants.

When Aislynn noticed, she giggled and plopped herself down on the bed.

**_Okay, people. I have a proposition for you. Whomever can tell me what the title of this chapter is called wins a free (drum roll please) fanfic. Written specifically for them, with the character of their choice. The character doesn't even have to be from NCIS. I'll write anything for him/her (as long as it's not anime/manga), just message me the answer :D_ _(I will accept multiple winners)_**


	7. The End

_**Chapter 7- I Want a Divorce**_

One week later, Aislynn awoke in the middle of the night by a door creaking. She rolled over in bed. Not finding Tony there, she passed it off as him going to the bathroom. Even so, when she rolled back over, she slipped her right hand under the mattress and touched the gun Tony made her keep there. Minutes later, the mattress squeaked, and Aislynn felt a hand run up her thigh.

"Tony?" she whispered, now fully awake.

"Guess again," the man whispered back. Aislynn recognized the voice almost immediately.

"DeRubis," she breathed.

"Please, sweetie, call me Ron," the man said, inching closer to her.

"Okay?" Where was Tony? "Where's my husband?"

"He won't be bothering us," DeRubis said, running a hand up Aislynn's nightshirt. It was one of Tony's—a grey NCIS t-shirt—but DeRubis didn't need to know that.

"What have you done with him?" Aislynn hissed protectively. She slowly moved her hand under the mattress.

"He's fine," DeRubis sounded bored.

"Now," he kissed Aislynn's neck. "Shall we get down to business?"

"Before you do this," Aislynn began softly. "I think there are some things you should know."

"And what would that be, my dear?" DeRubis moved a strand of Aislynn's bottle-blonde hair out of her eyes.

"Well, first of all, I'm not a real blonde," DeRubis' eyes got wide. "Second, I can get you for assault of a federal agent."

"What?" DeRubis looked confused.

Aislynn pulled her badge and gun from under the mattress. "NCIS," she said, showing him her badge with her left hand and training the gun on his temple with the other. "Now, if you knew what was good for you, you'd get off of me," Slowly, DeRubis got off the bed. "I will only ask you this one more time: What have you done with Tony?" Aislynn spat menacingly.

"Relax, Baby, he's safe," DeRubis assured her, touching her arm.

"My name is Special Agent Rivers and you _will_ address me as such," Aislynn jerked her arm away. "And don't touch me!" DeRubis held up his hands in a sign of surrender. "Let me rephrase my question. Where is Tony?" DeRubis pointed in the direction of the bathroom. With her free hand, Aislynn grabbed a set of handcuffs from the bedside table and handcuffed DeRubis to the leg of the bed. Once she made sure the cuffs were tight, she ran to the bathroom.

Tony was slumped against the bathroom wall beside a small pool of blood. Immediately, Aislynn's heart raced. Tony didn't deserve this, even if he was cocky and a womanizer at times. "Oh, Tony," Aislynn whispered, kneeling beside him.

He grunted slightly and looked up at her. "Ace!" he whispered. "DeRubis, he-"

Aislynn shushed him. "I know. Don't worry about him right now," she held out a hand and he took it gratefully, using it to help himself up. When he stood, he cringed slightly before switching his weight to his right foot. "What's wrong?"

Tony glanced down to his left leg, where there was a giant gash in his quadricep. "It's just a flesh wound," he joked meekly, quoting Monty Python.

Aislynn rolled her eyes. "Did DeRubis do that to you?"

Tony nodded, wrapping an arm around her shoulder and using it as a support to hobble out of the bathroom. "I'm pretty sure he would have killed me, too, if I wasn't paying attention."

When they got back to the bedroom, where DeRubis was still attached to the bed frame, Aislynn helped Tony sit on the bed before smiling at the photographer. "Ron DeRubis?"

He looked up at her and leered. "What's up, sweet cheeks?"

"You're under arrest for the assault and attempted murder of a federal agent," in one swift motion, Aislynn unlocked the cuffs from the bed and had both of DeRubis' hands behind his back, where she secured them tightly together. "You have the right to remain silent. Anything you say can and will be used against you in a court of law. You have the right to speak to an attorney, and to have an attorney present during any questioning. If you cannot afford a lawyer, one will be provided for you at government expense," she said, saying the speech she had learned long ago.

Tony smiled at her as he picked up the phone. "Yes, my name is Special Agent Anthony DiNozzo, NCIS."

Minutes later, DeRubis was loaded into a police car and on his way to NCIS where he would await questioning. Tony and Aislynn stood on the balcony of their room, watching the sky turn pink as the sun rose. "We should probably pack," Aislynn told Tony. She glanced down at the bandage that was now covering his cut.

"Probably," Tony looked down at her. There was a foreign emotion in his eyes.

Aislynn pulled her eyes from his and slowly walked inside the room. Noticing a manila envelope on the television stand, she walked over and picked it up. "What's this?" she asked Tony curiously.

Tony shrugged, and took the envelope out of her hand. He opened it slowly, looking under the flap before laughing slightly. "That bastard."

"What?" Aislynn asked curiously. Tony handed her the envelope, which she promptly removed the contents. "Oh my God," she gasped. The envelope was full of the pictures DeRubis had taken of her and Tony at the photo shoots. Several of them were of the two almost kissing in front of crashing waves or the sun setting. Each picture was beautiful. "What should we do with them?"

"Keep them, if you want," Tony told her, taking two of the sheets. Upon further inspection, she saw that they were two sheets of wallet-sized pictures. Each picture on the sheets was different, and some were even edited to be in black and white or in sepia.

Aislynn put the rest of the photos back into the envelope, which she placed in her suitcase when she was done packing.

The two arrived back at NCIS headquarters hours later. Gibbs already had DeRubis in interrogation, so they headed to the observation room to join McGee almost immediately. DeRubis was near tears, staring at pictures of the models he had previously raped.

"Damn!" DiNozzo whispered, crossing his arms and staring out the glass.

"What?" Aislynn was curious.

"Gibbs already broke him. I was hoping I'd get to see the bastard snap," Tony replied simply.

Aislynn nodded, glancing down at Tony's injury. The bandage was slowly turning red. "Uh, Tony?" she said softly. "I think you should go see Ducky."

Tony looked down at his leg and his eyes went wide. "I think you might be right."

Aislynn helped him to the elevator, which they took to the basement. Ducky was sitting at his desk, looking over a file. He looked up when he heard the doors opening. "Tony, Aislynn, so good to see you back from your adventures."

"Ducky, we've got a problem," Aislynn said, helping Tony to sit on one of the metal autopsy tables.

"And what would that be, my dear?" the medical examiner came over to the pair and looked at Tony.

"DeRubis cut Tony."

"Actually," Tony confessed, "he shot me."

"When?"

"Last night-ish," Aislynn guessed.

"Oh dear," Ducky scurried around the room, collecting supplies. He came back after a minute and took the bandage off Tony's bleeding wound. "Oh dear," Ducky repeated. "I have good news and bad news Tony," he started. "The good news is that I can help you without cutting off your leg."

"What's the bad news?" Tony asked.

"I'm afraid that this will hurt. Regrettably, this is an autopsy suite, not surgery. I don't have the proper numbing tools."

Tony groaned. "Great."

"Shall I proceed?" Ducky asked, preparing a pair of tweezers. Tony motioned him to continue. Ducky plunged the tongs into the wound, causing Tony to grimace and squeeze Aislynn's hand tightly.

After a few seconds' digging, Ducky extracted the bullet and quickly placed gauze onto Tony's leg. "Hold this down, dear," Ducky put Aislynn's hands on the bandage. "More pressure, good." He walked away, gathering more supplies.

Once Ducky properly stopped the bleeding and patched up Tony's leg, Aislynn helped Tony hobble back to the elevator. They took it up to the offices, where Gibbs and McGee were sitting at their respective desks, along with one other girl Aislynn didn't recognize. She looked Middle-Eastern, with long brown hair.

"That's Ziva," Tony whispered into her ear. Aislynn nodded.

"Aislynn," Gibbs beckoned her over to his desk. She went obediently and stood in front of him awkwardly.

"Yes?"

"Good job out there, kid," he uncle said, smiling at her.

"Thanks, Gibbs," Aislynn beamed.

Tony patted her on the back on his way to his desk.

"Oh, Tony," Aislynn said, following him and sitting on his lap.

Tony raised an eyebrow. "Yes?"

Aislynn moved close to his ear. "I want a divorce."

Gibbs chuckled and shook his head.


	8. Episode Two: Rule Breaker

**_EPISODE TWO: RULEBREAKER_**

**CHAPTER ONE: SARAH AND THE CLOUD**  
>Aislynn yawned widely. Normally, her acute insomnia only bothered her on weekends; however, it was only Thursday, so she sat at her desk staring at a half-completed game of Mah-Jong. She stood and walked a lap around the MCRT office. Hardly anyone was at his or her desk, which made sense, as it was almost four in the morning. Aislynn was about to sit back down at her desk when a phone started to ring. It was McGee's. She decided to answer it. McGee wouldn't mind, and it might be important.<p>

"Special Agent McGee's desk."

"Uh, hi," the woman said. "Is Tim there?" Did this person not know what time it was?

"No, he's not." Aislynn grabbed a pencil. "However, I can take a message."

"Can you call him for me?"

"Right now?" Aislynn questioned.

"Yeah. Tell him Sarah needs him."

Aislynn recognized the name. "Sarah, this is Agent Rivers. I work with your brother. I really don't want to bother your brother this early in the morning. Is there something I can help you with?"

"Actually, yes," Sarah started. "Would it be possible for you to come pick me up?"

"Sure, where are you?" Aislynn jotted down the address Sarah told her. It was in Manassas.

Minutes later, Aislynn pulled her Mustang into a spot in front of a civilian house in Manassas. A brunette was sitting on the curb, staring at her phone. Assuming this was McGee's sister, Aislynn walked up to her. "Sarah?"

The brunette looked up. "Agent Rivers?"

"That's what my badge says," Aislynn replied. "But you can call me Aislynn."

Sarah nodded and stood. "Thanks for coming to get me, by the way. I don't know how Tim would have reacted, but I know it wouldn't be good."

Aislynn opened the car door for her. "It's fine. Although, I'm kind of curious as to what made you leave this…," she gestured at the house, "whatever this is, early."

"They were drinking. I don't really like to drink."

Aislynn nodded. "That's a logical decision."

"Thank you."

They sped away from the house in Manassas back to the naval headquarters. When they arrived, Sarah got a visitor's badge from the front desk, and they took the elevator to the MCRT office.

Everyone was there, which was not uncommon; most of the team liked to get to work early. The mail was just going around. Tony looked extremely pleased about a letter he had received. When she saw her brother, Sarah ran to him happily. Aislynn chuckled and walked over to Tony's desk just as he was opening his letter.

"So, Tony, why are you so excited this early?" she asked. Unfortunately, Tony had a bad habit of blowing into the envelope before extracting his letters, so a cloud of white powder exploded into the air around both he and Aislynn.

"Not again," Tony whined as Gibbs threw him two water bottles. Tony handed one to Aislynn. "Cheers." They tapped the bottles together before leaning over the trashcan and dumping the water over their heads.

Gibbs stood on his desk and whistled loudly, giving the order for everyone to evacuate. Security quarantined the floor.

"Well," Tony began optimistically, "months after being divorced, we get to take a shower together." He wrapped and arm around Aislynn's waist.

"What's going on?" Sarah asked as McGee led her to the stairs.

"Regrettably, we have to continue with bio-hazard procedures. Which includes a shower," Tim explained to his sister. "And since you were here, you have to come with us."

"I'm so sorry, McGee," Aislynn told him.

"It's not your fault," he reassured her.

They got their showers quickly. Tony complained the entire time about how his expensive, designer clothes were being shredded and incinerated. After the shower, the entire team sat waiting for the hospital escorts in autopsy, where Ducky took samples of all of their blood.

"Lucky you, Tony," Ducky joked.

"Lucky Ziva," Tony replied. "She's sleeping in right now. I can't believe she took this week off. You know, I was supposed to have this week off."

"But they lost your paper, we know," Aislynn rolled her eyes. "You've told us a hundred times, Tony."

Minutes later, three men in suits came into autopsy. Tony stood and walked toward them. Ducky looked at Aislynn. "I think you'd better go with him. You may have inhaled some of the cloud."

Aislynn sighed. "Tony, if I have anthrax because of you, I will kill you."

"No, trust me, with my track record, it's probably more like genetically-altered pneumonic plague."

"That's reassuring." She followed Tony and the three men out of autopsy and to their car.


	9. Hospitals are Not Fun

**CHAPTER TWO: HOSPITALS ARE NOT FUN**

"Tony." The doctor shook his hand. "It's good to see you again, although I wish it were under different circumstances."

"Likewise, Doc," Tony replied.

"Hi." The doctor turned to Aislynn. "I'm Doctor Brad Pitt. No relation to the actor, I assure you."

"Good to know," Aislynn replied.

Doctor Pitt led them to the elevator, which they took to the bottom floor. When the doors opened, Aislynn saw a glass room filled with blue light. Inside were about ten hospital beds. "Nice setup," Aislynn commented as they walked into the room.

"Thank you."

Tony hopped up onto the first bed in the room. "Where's Nurse Emma?"

"She was transferred." Doctor Pitt sat a clipboard at the end of his bed.

Aislynn walked to the bed directly across from Tony's. "So, are these lights placebos?"

"I wouldn't tell you if they were," the doctor replied. He handed them both a Dixie cup with two tiny pills in them. Aislynn took them swiftly, and the doctor left.

Tony rambled for a few minutes about the last time he was in the hospital when Doctor Pitt came back, carrying a laptop. "Special Agent Gibbs would like you to have this. He said that Doctor Mallard will be in touch with you with details and updates about the case."

Aislynn nodded and immediately, Ducky's face popped up onto the screen. "Hey, Duck."

"Hello, Aislynn. How are you?"

"Bored out of my mind."

Ducky laughed jovially. "Well, let's hope that that's the worst that will happen to you."

"So, what's up, Ducky?"

"Well, we've confirmed that the powder contained in the envelope contained a genetically engineered strand of tuberculosis."

"That's fun."

"Yes. Gibbs is investigating who it was sent by; however, that is proving difficult because he and McGee are still in autopsy."

"I'll bet he's hating that."

"Oh, he is."

"Doctor Mallard," Doctor Pitt said, walking forward holding a stack of papers in his hand, "tell Special Agents McGee and Gibbs that they're clear. The other McGee is as well."

"That's very good!" Ducky went off screen for a second to tell Gibbs and McGee.

Doctor Pitt handed Aislynn the papers. Leafing through them, she noticed that all of her blood tests and cultures came back negative. Tony's, on the other hand, were all positive.

"Don't tell him I'm negative," Aislynn mouthed to the doctor, who nodded.

"Well," Ducky said as he came back onscreen, "how were your tests?" Aislynn shook her head and glanced over at Tony. "Really? Well, I guess it's not surprising. You two were the closest to the disease." Thankfully, Ducky had taken her hint.

"Wait, Ace, you've got it too?" Tony asked, sitting bolt upright in his bed. Aislynn nodded slowly. "Oh, God, I'm so sorry."

"It's not your fault, Tony," she replied.

"Yes, it is! If I hadn't opened that letter-"

Aislynn stood and walked over to the side of Tony's bed. "What? If you hadn't opened the letter at that particular millisecond? Then it could've been Sarah. Or Gibbs. That's worse."

Tony sighed. "That's true." He coughed violently. Immediately, his hand flew to his forehead.

"Headache?" the doctor asked. Tony nodded. "Well, it seems that you're progressing much faster than Agent Rivers."

Hours passed slowly by as Tony's condition worsened. He became pallid and sickly looking. He complained of having difficulty breathing; the tuberculosis was slowly starting to take hold of Tony. When Doctor Pitt wasn't in the room, Aislynn was at Tony's side, aiding him in any way she could. His difficult breathing transformed to violent coughing and severe chest pain. When the pain became too much to bear, Aislynn was there, letting him squeeze her hand as tightly as possible to make the pain bearable while she rubbed gentle circles with her thumb on the top of his hand. Tony's fever was high, yet he was constantly chilled. He refused to eat, which was strange—Tony was almost _always_ hungry. He was tired, but he couldn't sleep because of his almost constant coughing. As his health deteriorated, Aislynn found it harder and harder to stay by him, hating to see him in so much pain.

As the night progressed, Tony's coughing worsened. It started as a simple cough, as one might have with a cold; however, the cough evolved and became stronger. He was now at the point where he was coughing up blood.


	10. Lovely News

**CHAPTER THREE: LOVELY NEWS**  
>Thankfully, Tony fell asleep at around eleven o'clock that night. Aislynn collapsed into the bed directly beside his and put her head into her hands. It had been a long eighteen hours, and she was terrified that it would become much worse before, or even if, it got better. Rubbing her eyes, Aislynn wondered why she was so concerned about the man she had spent two weeks married to. He wasn't anything special, surely not one to call home about. Tony wasn't overly handsome, although if asked, he would claim that he was. He was egotistical and full of himself. Aislynn snapped herself out of her thoughts. Why was she thinking like that? Tony was a co-worker. She had a rule about falling in love with co-workers. It applied to <strong>all<strong> co-workers, even those that were as funny, and sweet, and understanding as Tony was.

Aislynn sighed and glanced over at Tony. He looked so helpless, tangled in the hospital's imitation cotton sheets. He was sweating profusely while tossing and turning. He began to cough, and immediately he was awake. Aislynn helped him to sit up, and she held a piece of cloth up to his mouth. Tony leaned back. "I know you're not sick, Ace," he whispered hoarsely. "You don't have to stay here with me."

She silenced him by placing her finger to his lips. "Save your strength, Tony, you'll need it."

He smiled weakly and coughed again. This time, it was much more volatile. He didn't stop coughing until Doctor Pitt rushed in the room. The doctor checked Tony's vitals and shook his head slightly. He left the room and reappeared with an oxygen machine. He hooked the tubes up to Tony, and immediately, he was breathing slightly better. Aislynn watched from the corner of the room wearily, fearing the worst. Tony's worsening condition was now making her sick to her stomach; the possibility of losing him was almost too much to handle.

"May I speak to you?" Doctor Pitt said to Aislynn, motioning her out of the glass room. Aislynn stood and followed him out. She saw that Ducky was standing outside the doors with a grave expression on his face.

"Ducky, what's-" she was interrupted by Doctor Pitt.

"Agent Rivers, I recommend that you go back to NCIS with Doctor Mallard."

"What? Why?" The panic in her voice was very evident. While watching was difficult, the thought of leaving him while he was so weak seemed much worse.

Ducky put a comforting hand on Aislynn's shoulder. "Very soon, he will get much, much worse."

Aislynn looked back to Tony. He was staring blankly at the glass. Aislynn couldn't help but think that he looked extremely pitiful, and she couldn't possibly leave him. "No, I'm sorry. I can't leave him here."

Ducky looked at her. "Aislynn-"

"No, Duck. I understand completely what I'm getting myself into. I'm staying here."

He nodded and smiled. "Okay." Aislynn turned to go back into the room with Tony. "Aislynn, wait."

"Yes, Duck?"

"Gibbs found the person who made the virus."

"And?"

"The virus has a suicide gene. If he survives the next hour, Tony will be fine."

Aislynn sighed with relief. "Oh thank God." She turned to leave again, but stopped. "Duck?"

"Yes, Aislynn?"

"Gibbs put this guy away, yes?"

"Of course."

She nodded. "Sweet."

Aislynn walked back into the glass room. Tony was coughing pitifully; she hurried over to him. She stood beside him and rubbed his back gently. "What did the doctor say?" he managed.

"He wanted to tell me Ducky was here." She smiled and ran a hand through his sweaty hair gently. "He says you'll be fine."

"Really?" He smiled.

"Yeah. And since you're not going to croak, I don't really have to be here anymore." Aislynn stood and attempted to walk out even though she really didn't _want _to leave him. Tony grabbed her wrist, preventing her from moving.

"No," he said softly. "Nurse Emma isn't here."

"That doesn't mean I have to stay here." She turned back to face him.

He stuck out his bottom lip. "You wouldn't leave poor, pitiful Tony here all alone, would you?"

"I would." He stared at her, and she knew that she wouldn't. "Fine. I'll stay."

"Good!" Tony pulled her into a sitting position on his bed, snuggly fitting her beside him. The size of the bed was small, requiring them to sit extremely close. He started coughing again, and Aislynn handed him a paper towel.

Over the next few hours, Tony slowly became better. He began to cough less, and his fever slowly went back down to normal. His muscles were sore from coughing, and he couldn't take very deep breaths, but Doctor Pitt said that it was nothing Aleve and sleep couldn't fix.

Tony was discharged from the hospital at around five the next morning. Mysteriously, Aislynn's Mustang was in the hospital parking lot.


	11. Finding a Reason Not to Love You

**Chapter Four: Finding a reason not to love you**

The days passed quickly. Tony was had strict orders to stay away from work. Doctor Pitt said that he didn't need the stress of healing on top of the everyday stress he encountered. Aislynn, on the other hand, had to go to back to NCIS. She received a new cell phone, this one was an iPhone, and a new weapon because hers had been destroyed during the biohazard. Nothing important happened while Tony was gone. Gibbs was in a bad mood, even more than usual—Aislynn speculated it was because his star agent wasn't there.

Every day after she got off work, Aislynn drove her mustang to Tony's house. She would make dinner, usually some sort of Italian dish, and then they would discuss work. Eventually, they would end up on the couch watching movies from Tony's vast collection, with Aislynn snuggled up to Tony's chest. He had his arm around her shoulders and was twirling a strand of hair around his fingers.

The day before Tony was to go back to work, they were watching _Singin' in the Rain_, as per Aislynn's request. "So, Ace," he whispered during a boring part of the movie, "I wanted to thank you for helping me out these past few days."

She looked at him. "It's really not a problem. You'd do the same for me."

"Yeah." Conflict arose in his eyes, and Aislynn could tell he was debating something.

"What?" she asked curiously.

"What, what?"

She shook her head. "If you don't want to tell me, that's fine. I can stand not knowing." He sighed, and Aislynn smiled, happy that taking deep breaths no longer put him through pain. "What?"

"I need to tell you something—something important—but I'm not sure how." His voice was soft; so much so that Aislynn almost couldn't hear him over the movie.

"Just tell me," she turned to look at him.

Conflict was evident in his eyes as he ran a hand through his hair. After a few seconds' silence, he finally sighed. "Hell with it, fine. I can't believe I'm saying this, but ever since we first met, I've been mesmerized by you. The way you walk, your similarities to Gibbs, how you interact with people; I don't know, I'm just sort of…" He fumbled for words and stopped, unable to find the right one. He decided to take a different approach to what he was trying to say. "I don't know, I guess what I'm trying to say is that I really like you." He smiled, gaining courage. "Hell, I'd go as far as saying I love you."

Aislynn's heart skipped a beat and her hand flew to her eyes. She pinched the bridge of her nose, debating what to say. "Tony… I don't know how to respond to that. Normally, I do, but…" she trailed off and scratched her head. "Look, you said it yourself, I'm like Gibbs. More like him than you know. I've got rules, too. One of them you may be familiar with: Rule 12."

He shook his head. "Never date a co-worker." Aislynn nodded, causing Tony to grin. "But, there's an exception to every rule."

"Not to these ones, Tony. They're made from both experience and the need to not get myself hurt."

"But… sometimes, experiences are wrong! Sometimes…" he paused, thinking, "sometimes, you've gotta meet a person worth breaking the rules."

Aislynn sighed and rubbed her eye with the heel of her hand. She was conflicted. She cared for Tony, but she had promised herself a long time ago that her rules were not to be broken except in dire circumstances. "I don't know what to tell you, Tony. I really don't." He said nothing. "Let me explain my situation to you. A few years ago, I was dating a guy in my department at SVU. He was a lot like you, actually. But we broke up. I was devastated. It ended up ruining a few of our cases because we couldn't overcome our feelings."

"What's the other side of your argument?" he asked curiously.

Aislynn sighed and shook her head. "Please, whatever you do, don't think I don't care about you, Tony." He looked solemnly at the television as she thought for a few minutes. "Damn it."

"What?" he asked curiously. She just shook her head. "Seriously, Ace, what?"

"Well, you see, I keep trying to find a decent reason, but I just… I don't know, I just can't."

"Reason for what?"

She smiled and looked down at her shoes. "A reason for not loving you."

It took Tony a minute to realize what Aislynn had said, but when he did, he grinned wickedly and wrapped his arms around her waist, pulling her closer. He leaned down and kissed her passionately. Aislynn reciprocated, her arms snaking around his neck. Her fingers slightly tangled themselves in his short hair. Tony bit down on her lip slightly, begging entrance. Their tongues warred for a bit; all the while, Tony's hands were making their way to her legs, which moved so that they were around his waist. He stood, and not breaking the kiss, and walked slowly to his bedroom. He lowered Aislynn down on the bed gently, and she pushed herself backwards to make room for him.

Aislynn unbuttoned Tony's fitted grey shirt slowly before letting her hands wander along his slightly defined abs. Tony smiled into the kiss and broke it, just for a second, so he could remove her v-neck t-shirt, revealing her green tank top. Tony reconnected their lips and pushed her back easily. He moved so that he was over top of her, supporting himself with one arm. His other hand was on Aislynn's hip, moving her tank top slowly upward.

"DiNozzo!"

Tony jumped, causing his forehead to smack into Aislynn's. Her hand flew to the spot, and she rubbed it. "Ow, Gibbs, what the hell are you doing here?"

"I could ask you the same question," he said icily.

"I made Tony dinner," she replied indignantly. She pushed Tony lightly, and he moved, allowing her to stand and face her uncle.

"Rule 12," he growled at Tony, who hung his head.

"Yeah, boss, she tried to tell me that, but I pushed her," Tony said, trying to protect Aislynn.

"No, no he didn't," Aislynn said. "Gibbs, we're big kids now. We can make our own mistakes."

Gibbs rolled his eyes. "You're too much like your aunt." He kissed his niece's forehead where Tony's had hit. "You're right," he whispered in her ear.

"Why are you here?" Tony asked Gibbs. "And how the hell did you get in?"

"Front door was unlocked," Aislynn answered for her uncle.

"I'm here to give you your cell," Gibbs threw Tony an iPhone, identical to Aislynn's own.

"Upgrade?" Tony asked curiously, turning it on.

"Yeah. The director thought you guys could use a bit more technology."

Aislynn nodded. "I'm not complaining."

Gibbs stared out the window. "I'll leave you two alone."

"Bye, Gibbs!" Aislynn waved as her uncle walked out of the room.

Tony waited until he heard Gibbs' car start before advancing toward her. "Now," he said seductively, "where were we?"

Aislynn shook her head. "Not in the mood anymore."

"What? Why?" Tony whined.

"I don't know, something about seeing my uncle makes me not want to have sex with men. I know, it's weird," she replied sarcastically, grabbing her shirt and walking out to the living room, where 'Would You' was playing on _Singin' in the Rain._


	12. Episode Three: A Christmas Abduction

**CHAPTER THREE: A CHRISTMAS ABDUCTION**

**Chapter One: I Freaking Love You**  
>"You know," Aislynn said, pushing a strand of her wavy brown hair behind her ear, "it's sort of rude to say that you're going to tell me what you got me for Christmas and then make me wait." She plopped down on her couch.<p>

"I know, Ace," Tony replied. His voice and head were slightly distorted from the trans-Atlantic Facetime chat. "But I wanted to see your reaction live."

"Well, it's still rude."

"So I've been told."

Aislynn smiled. "I miss you."

"I'll be home tonight." Tony smiled, gesturing behind him to the Eiffel Tower. "The Eiffel Tower—not even Gibbs—couldn't keep me off that plane. Speaking of which, Ace, I've gotta go."

"So soon?"

"Ace, we've been talking for an hour! I'll see you soon, okay?"

She nodded sadly. "Yeah, okay."

"Hey, I'll be home before you know it," Tony said soothingly. "Remember: wear something fancy."

Aislynn snorted. "Yeah, right. I'll find something."

"See you at eight, Ace." She waved and the screen of her iPhone went blank.

Aislynn sighed and fell backwards so that she was laying on her black leather couch. Tony had been in France for far too long. Granted, Aislynn knew that having Director Vance ask Tony to accompany him to Paris was a great way to recognize how good of an agent he was; however, she missed Tony. McGee's sexist jokes just weren't the same.

She looked at the giant clock on her living room wall; it was only 10 o'clock in the morning. Tony's flight wouldn't land at Dulles until seven. Luckily, she promised Abby she'd go out for lunch with her and McGee. They went to a small café in town and stayed there for a few hours.

Aislynn went home after lunch and dusted her apartment. She still had three hours until Tony's plane landed, so she vacuumed. After vacuuming, she only had two hours, so she decided to plug in her hair straightener and begin to get ready.

Her hair took an hour due to her extreme thickness of the locks. She then pulled on a knee-length, A-line, black dress. It was sleek and form fitting, with thick straps that led to a tight bust. The dress was extremely tailored, and accentuated her curves well.

Just as Aislynn was finishing her makeup, the doorbell rang. "It's open," she called, grabbing her black Coach purse and walking into the living room. The door swung open gently, and Tony walked inside. He was wearing a black pea coat over an Armani suit and a deep purple and black scarf. Aislynn dropped her purse and bolted forward, enveloping him in a tight embrace.

"Hey, Ace," Tony said soothingly, stroking her hair lightly. "I missed you." Aislynn breathed deeply into his chest. He smelled the same as she remembered: mandarin, with a hint of grapefruit, bergamot, juniper, musk, and a few other exotic scents. Ever since Aislynn gave it to him, Tony wore Dolce and Gabbana: Light Blue cologne every day.

"You look gorgeous." He held her at arm's length and looked her over, smiling happily. "God, I missed you."

"Where are we going?" Aislynn asked as Tony walked to the hall closet and grabbed her long, woolen, trench coat and her blue fleece scarf.

"You'll see." He smiled and wrapped an arm around her waist.

They drove to a restaurant called Obelisk. It was small, but Aislynn knew the place's reputation. It was one of the most expensive 5-course, Italian, restaurants in the DC area. "Tony," she breathed, "how did you get us in this place?"

"Reservations and a bit of luck." He flashed a smile and held open the door for her.

Once seated, Tony took the liberty of ordering every course. For the first course, the appetizer, he ordered a lightly fried shrimp paired with Pinot Grigio. The second course was pasta. For this, he ordered porcini ravioli and two glasses of Pinot Noir. He ordered black bass for two with the main course, and Chardonnay. With the cheese course came more Pinot Grigio. For dessert, Tony ordered a chocolate hazelnut cake and a liqueur Muscat.

"Tony, this must have cost a fortune," Aislynn mused lightly as they shared the fried shrimp.

"Yeah, but it's worth it," he responded.

"So, what is this great present?"

"You don't waste any time, do you?" He leaned forward and sipped his wine nonchalantly.

"Not when I'm dying to know something."

"Fair enough. I've made you wait long enough." She smiled. "Let me tell you a little story, first." She rolled her eyes. "It's short. So, before I went on this trip with the director, I was having issues determining what to get you."

"You didn't need to get me anything," she interrupted.

"Shh." He silenced her. "Anyway, I didn't want to ask you because that would be obvious; so I went to Gibbs."

"Oh dear, Lord." Aislynn put a hand to her forehead.

"At first, he wasn't much help. I was persistent, though. Finally, he gave me a decent answer; however, he told me a story first." Aislynn hung her head in desperation. "He told me that your parents divorced when you were young." Aislynn nodded. "And you went back and forth between Pittsburgh and New York City." Again, she nodded. "He told me that you probably missed both places. And that got me thinking. I've never really been to New York, so…" he trailed off.

A grin slowly spread across Aislynn's face. "You didn't." Tony nodded. "I freaking love you."


	13. Hello, Again

**Chapter Two: Hello, Again**  
>"So, now where to?" Tony asked as Aislynn led him out of the theater. They had just seen <em>Phantom of the Opera<em> and missed lunch because of its noon show time. Now that it was nearly three o'clock, Tony was audibly hungry.

"Well," she replied, leading him to the main part of Broadway. "How about a late lunch?"

"You read my mind. Where to?"

She smiled and shook her head. "Just follow me." She led him up the block towards the Hard Rock Café.

"Ace, I don't like the Hard Rock," Tony protested, making a face. She continued to walk down the street to a small storefront. "I've never seen anything so amazing," he marveled.

"Welcome to Bubba Gump's." Aislynn walked in with Tony on her heels.

They ate Bubba Gump's famous shrimp, and when they were done eating and buying souvenirs, Tony wanted to go see Ellis Island, so they left the store and stood outside waiting for a taxi.

"Aislynn!"

Aislynn turned at the sound of her name. "Vin!" she exclaimed happily, hugging the tall, dark-haired man. Tony coughed. "Oh, Vin, this is Special Agent Anthony DiNozzo. Tony, this is Detective Vincenzo D'Angelo. He was my partner at SVU."

The men shook hands. "Hey, Aislynn, you should drop by the station. McNerd and LaFleur would love it."

Aislynn looked at Tony. "Do you want to?"

"Hey." Tony shrugged. "It's your Christmas. Plus, I'd like to meet the people that drove you to such insanity." She punched him lightly in the arm.

"Come on, then." Vincenzo grabbed Aislynn's arm and led her down the street.

They arrived at the precinct fifteen minutes later and rode the elevator up two floors to the third, where they got off. It was an open room, albeit small for a police bullpen, cluttered with desks and filing cabinets. Several rooms branched off, containing the three interrogation rooms, the chief's office, and a break room. As soon as they heard the elevator doors open, two of the detectives started talking. The man was tall with short blond hair and the other, a woman, was medium height and had long, red hair. She had a slight French accent.

"Vin," the blond said, holding a Post-it up in the air, "I think we might need to call her after all."

"Why?" Vincenzo asked, walking forward and taking the Post-it.

"Dead marine in the Bronx," the woman answered, hanging up her phone.

"Lovely." Vincenzo sat down at a desk.

"So are we going to call her?" the French woman asked.

"We don't have to." Vincenzo pointed to where Aislynn and Tony were standing.

The two turned around and the blond jumped out of his chair to rush forward and hug Aislynn. Again, Tony coughed to draw attention to himself. "Tony, this is Blake McGinty. McGeek, this is Tony DiNozzo." Tony shook Blake's hand. "And that's Danielle LaFleur." Tony waved. "So, dead marine?" Blake nodded. "Well, there goes our vacation. Tony, call Gibbs."

"On it." He pulled out his cell phone and dialed while Aislynn was briefed on the case. Gibbs was to meet them at the crime scene in a few hours' time, so they all took a police car to an abandoned warehouse in the Bronx. Aislynn and Tony interviewed the man who found the body—an inspector sent to make sure the building was ready to be renovated—while the SVU team gathered and photographed the evidence.

"So what did we find?" Aislynn asked Blake when he came outside.

"Something you need to see yourself." He led her through the warehouse to a back room. One the floor beside the body were the words 'Hello again'.

"What's it written in?" Aislynn asked, kneeling beside the note.

"Blood, presumably," Vincenzo said, standing beside her. "We'll know for sure when your team gets here." Aislynn nodded and stood. "There's something else you need to see."

He led her over to the body, which he gently lifted and flipped. "I hope your ME doesn't mind. But when I saw that, I got curious." He nodded in the direction of the note.

"Ducky probably won't. Just explain it to him." Vincenzo nodded and pulled up the marine's shirt. Carved into her shoulder was a nautical star. Aislynn sighed. "Son of a bitch."

"My thoughts exactly."

Gibbs and the rest of the MCRT arrived an hour later. Ducky examined the body and found that asphyxiation due to strangulation was the most probable cause of death for the marine. There were bruises around the woman's neck similar in shape to hands.

"What's up with the note?" Gibbs asked Aislynn when they got a minute alone.

"A few years after our squad was formed with its existing members, a killer surfaced. He would abduct women and keep them in god-awful places like this. He would rape them and dress them up in uniforms of women of power, one was a princess. If she got too opinionated, or if he got bored with one, the man would kill her," Aislynn said, leaning against a grimy brick wall.

"Name?"

"Jonah Lorry. He was nineteen at the time. I think I read somewhere that he posted for bail a year ago."

Gibbs nodded. "DiNozzo!" he barked. Tony came out from his hiding place around the corner.

"Yes, boss?" Tony asked.

"We're going to need every case file SVU has on this Jonah Lorry."

"D'Angelo!" Aislynn said, causing Vincenzo to come from around the opposite corner.

"I was just… uhh…"

"Save it. Go help Tony get the case files on the Lorry murders."

"On it, boss!" Vincenzo said, saluting sloppily.


	14. Too Late

**Chapter Three: Too Late**  
>A day later, the NCIS team was completely briefed on the Lorry case. Ducky had examined the body and confirmed his suspicion of asphyxiation as cause of death. He also found that the nautical star was carved with a blade similar in nature to a scalpel. This coincided with the original case. NCIS was officially heading the investigation, with SVU aiding. Gibbs was the head investigator, with the rest of the MCRT under his rule. The SVU was under the MCRT in rank, but the highest ranking member of the SVU, Vincenzo, still had his other team members answer to him.<p>

Also on key with the case, a letter was mailed to the SVU. Aislynn was the first to get the letter, so she opened it. "Hey, Gibbs," she called, reading the letter silently before reading it aloud. "'Hello, again, Detective Rivers. Or, should I say, Special Agent Rivers. I've found my next wife, so if you wish to take her from me, you'd better work quickly. We're going to married on your birthday.' What do you think of it?" She handed the letter to her uncle.

"I think he's found his next victim, and we'd better work quickly," Gibbs responded, reading the letter again. Aislynn handed him the attached picture. The woman was a naval officer, pretty, with black hair and bright green eyes. "Petty Officer Cardoza," Gibbs mused.

The rest of the day flew by in a whir of bolo's and DNA tests, fingerprint analyses, and other forensic tests. None of the NCIS team went home, choosing instead to work throughout the night. The bolo on Lorry's Range Rover came back at around midnight, and the team was off to Manhattan with SVU in tow. They arrived at an apartment building and immediately saw the forest green Range Rover parked in the parking lot. They got Lorry's apartment number from the apartment owner, and the group mounted the stairs two at a time, guns raised. Gibbs knocked on the door and shouted "Federal agents." No one answered, so he kicked the door in. The apartment itself was small. Three doors led off the main room, which was a combined kitchen and living room. The paint was peeling and from the 1960s. The carpet was a muddy mauve color. On the kitchen floor was another note, and Aislynn picked it up. It was written on standard white printer paper, and the words were cut haphazardly out of newspapers and magazines.

"Sorry, sweetie, but you're too late. Dare to find me? I'll give you a hint: you're burning up," Aislynn read aloud. "P.S. Mom called me 'The Worm'." She handed the note to Gibbs to read.

"What the hell is that supposed to mean?" Vincenzo asked, scratching his head.

Aislynn sighed and thought. "Worms…die in the rain. Worms live in the dirt. Worms are blind. Worms are pink."

"Well, he's not pink," La Fleur commented, coming back from checking the rest of the apartment.

"No…what about his mother, though?" Aislynn asked Blake.

"His mom used to live in a house not far from here in the Upper East Side."

"I think it's time we paid her a visit." Gibbs walked out of the apartment.

"Gibbs, wait!" Aislynn called, running after him.

"What?" He turned angrily.

"We can't go to Mrs. Lorry's apartment tonight."

"Why the hell not, Aislynn?"

"She's dead," Blake cut in.

"Why didn't you tell me that?"

"Gibbs, inside voice," Aislynn whispered. "There are sound ordinances out at this time of night."

"Forgive me for being pissed that your precious detectives didn't tell me that our one link to our only suspect is DEAD." He stomped away in frustration. McGee, Ziva, and the SVU team followed him down the staircase to the cars.

Aislynn stood behind, watching them go. When they were out of sight, she turned and walked back into the apartment. Tony was still inside, snooping around.

"Find anything interesting?" she asked him, wrapping her arms around his chest from behind.

He spun and hugged her before handing her a dirty piece of paper and two gloves. Aislynn put on the latex gloves before taking the paper. "Just this." It was a picture of some sort of underground room. Possibly an underground basement or storage unit.

Aislynn studied it closely. "You know, I think I know where this is." She looked at it again. "I'm certain I do."


	15. Creeper

**Chapter Four: Creeper**  
>They arrived at Lorry's mother's house minutes later. Gibbs knocked on the door and it opened lightly with no help from a person behind it. The door had been opened. Everyone drew their guns, and Gibbs motioned for half of the SVU team to go around back and the other half to stay here. They were to be the door guards. Gibbs led the NCIS team in the front door. They inspected the front half of the first floor before Gibbs motioned for Ziva and McGee to go check upstairs.<p>

"McGee," Aislynn whispered as he began to mount the stairs. "Careful. It's condemned." McGee nodded and led Ziva up the stairs to the second floor.

"Now, how do we get to the basement?" Tony breathed into Aislynn's ear.

"This way." Aislynn led the two through the tiny living room and into the kitchen where she opened a dark brown door. The light was on down in the basement. Gibbs motioned for her to go down.

At the bottom of the steps, Aislynn looked around the basement in curiosity. "It's empty."

"Not completely." Gibbs pointed to a computer monitor and a webcam. One the computer screen was another note.

"Damn it." Aislynn grabbed the note and read it. "'Hello, Agent Rivers. I see you figured out my previous clue. You're going to have to do better than that if you want to find us. Maybe you should take a second look at your evidence and update the bolos.' He's playing with us, Gibbs."

As if on cue, Gibbs' phone rang. "Yeah, Gibbs. Abs, what's… we're on our way." He hung up. "Lorry was right. We needed to reexamine our evidence. Abby found something your forensic specialist missed the first time."

"Gibbs!" Ziva yelled from the top of the stairs. "We've found something!"

Tony snapped a picture of the note with his phone before they made their way back up to the first floor. Ziva led them to the stairs. Aislynn stepped onto the first stair, and it creaked menacingly. "Careful," Gibbs said. "Stick to the sides of the boards." Aislynn nodded and proceeded.

Halfway up the stairs, however, this plan backfired and Aislynn crashed through the stairs. She caught herself before she went the entire way through.

"You okay?" Gibbs asked his niece, kneeling down on the steps beside her.

"Aside from extremely sore arms, yes, I'm fine."

"Need help up?" Tony asked from behind her.

"Just go back down a couple steps." She pushed herself out of the hole and sat on the edge of the previous step so that her feet were dangling. Tony grabbed her hand and helped her stand.

They managed to make it the rest of the way up the stairs without incident. At the top, they made a right and walked into what was once a bedroom. McGee was taking pictures of one of the walls.

"Oh my God," Tony breathed. Plastered all over the far wall were pictures and newspaper articles of Aislynn.

"That's just lovely." Aislynn walked over to the walls. Framed was a newspaper article from the Village Voice of Aislynn's first arrest.

"McGee finish up and meet us outside." Gibbs walked over to the window and climbed out onto the roof. Ziva, Tony, and Aislynn followed. Once outside, Gibbs turned to Aislynn. "You go nowhere without one of us, got it?"

"I don't need your protection," she retorted.

"Ace," Tony interjected before an argument started. "Just listen to him. None of us want you to be Lorry's next victim."

Aislynn rolled her eyes. "Fine."

"No, Ace, promise me." Tony sounded genuinely worried, something that hadn't even happened when he thought he was dying.

Aislynn nodded. "Okay, yeah, I promise."


	16. Phone Messages and Road Trips

**Chapter Five: Phone Messages and Road Trips**  
>They arrived back to the police station minutes later. Abby revealed that she found a medical statement saying that Lorry had had a GPS chip implanted in his leg when he was doing experiments for the FBI in the 1970s, but it was very complicated technology for being so old. It would take her, McGee, and McGinty a while to crack it.<p>

In the meantime, the rest of the team went up to the squad room. Aislynn's cell phone rang. "Hello?" she said, picking it up. No one answered her. "Hello?" she repeated. Again, no one answered her. She hung up her phone.

"Who was that?" McGee asked curiously from the desk beside her. They were forced to work on the GPS in the squad room due to the nonexistent SVU forensics department.

"I don't know," she said. "It was weird."

"Want me to run a trace on it?"

"I don't want to bother you. You've got that stuff going on."

"This is really a two person job. I need a break. Give me the number." Aislynn read it off her call log. "The trace should only take a few minutes." The computer McGee had run the trace on pinged. "Or a few seconds." He typed something into the computer and a list came up. "Uh oh."

"Uh oh? Why uh oh?" Aislynn asked worriedly.

"Gibbs isn't going to like this." McGee turned the monitor so that Aislynn could see what had popped up. A picture of Lorry was on his computer.

"Lorry called me? Why?"

"He's obsessed with you," Tony interjected, handing Aislynn a cup of coffee.

Aislynn took a sip and gagged. "What is this crap?"

"Non-fat mocha latté with whipped cream. You don't like it?"

"It's revolting."

"Weird. I thought you'd be into fancy coffees."

"No. I drink black coffee. Sometimes, if I'm feeling rebellious, I put milk and sugar in it."

"You are SO related to Gibbs," Tony commented.

Aislynn's phone started to ring again. "It's Lorry," McGee informed her.

"Should I pick it up?"

"Let voicemail get it."

Aislynn nodded, and McGee started typing furiously. "I can't get a clear signal," McGee said after a few seconds.

"Do you think he left a voicemail?" Tony asked, eyeing Aislynn's iPhone suspiciously.

"Only one way to find out." Aislynn dialed voicemail and put it on speakerphone. It dialed through, and the woman informed Aislynn of one new message.

"Special Agent Rivers?" Lorry sing-songed. "I know you're listening. Why haven't you found me yet? Are you too afraid? Of course, you aren't—you're a trained agent. Do you need help finding me? I've done a good job of hiding from you this time. But, don't worry: I'll visit you eventually. When I do, will you be ready to be my new wife?" The phone beeped, signaling the end of Lorry's message.

"You are _definitely_ not going anywhere without one of us," Tony said. Aislynn could hear a tinge of over-protective anger in his voice.

Aislynn rolled her eyes but otherwise ignored his comment. "McGee, can you get a fix on Lorry's phone's GPS signal?"

McGee typed something into his computer and shook his head. "It's turned off. If it were on, I could."

"Monitor it. I want to know when he turns it back on," she commanded. "Tony, I think it's time for a road trip."

"Where?"

"Lorry's old haunts."


	17. Stalker

**Chapter Six: Stalker**  
>Aislynn looked over her shoulder for what felt like the hundredth time in the short walk she and Tony were taking. "What?" Tony asked her, clearly concerned.<p>

"It's probably nothing." Aislynn shook her head and pulled her black coat tighter around her body.

"No, what?"

"I just feel like someone's following us."

Tony glanced over his shoulder. "I don't see anyone suspicious."

Aislynn turned into a corner deli. "Lorry used to come here all the time," she informed Tony. "I don't blame him. Free wi-fi and some of the best cheesecake outside of Philadelphia."

They sat down at a table facing the window. One of the cashiers walked over to them. "Can I get you anything?"

"Just coffee, thanks," Aislynn answered. Tony nodded in agreement, and the employee walked away.

Minutes later, Aislynn and Tony were brought coffee. "Wait," Aislynn said to the cashier. "Has this man been in recently?" She handed him a picture of Lorry.

"Not that I can remember. I only work here part-time, though."

"Okay, well, thanks anyway."

"Not a problem," the cashier walked away.

A green car driving past the window caught Aislynn's eye. "Tony."

"What?"

"I swear, that car has passed at least three times."

"What car?"

"Well, it's not out there anymore, but it was a green Range Rover."

"Just ignore it, Ace. I think you're just being paranoid."

"Yeah, you're probably right." Aislynn's phone started ringing. "Hello?"

"Aislynn, Lorry just turned on his phone."

"Okay, where is he?"

"Well, he's…"McGee swore. "He just turned it off again."


	18. She's Too Good For You

**Chapter Seven: She's too Good for You**  
>"Ace, you need your rest!" Tony protested as they walked back to the police station.<p>

"Tony, I'm fine."

"Please?" Tony asked. He was practically begging.

Aislynn sighed. "Fine. I could use a decent shower."

Instead of walking all the way back to the police station, they entered the hotel they had booked a suite at: The Waldorf Astoria. They took the elevator up to the eighth floor and found their room easily. Aislynn stopped two feet short of the door.

"What's wrong?" Tony asked.

"Door's open."

"Cleaning lady?" Tony suggested, pulling his gun out of its holster.

"No cart," Aislynn pointed out, also drawing her sidearm.

Aislynn flattened herself against the wall and pushed open the door. Tony stood in the doorway with his gun raised. "Oh no," he whispered.

"What?" Aislynn poked her head in the doorway. The entire suite was in shambles. Clothes were scattered everywhere, furniture was upturned, and the pictures were taken off the walls. "Son of a bitch."

They looked around the suite to find that every room was a mess.

"Ace, I don't think you should go in there," Tony said, walking out of the bedroom.

"Why?" Aislynn asked, pushing past him. She gasped when she walked in. Written on the wall above the headboard were the words 'She's too good for you, bastard'.

"I think we should call Gibbs," Tony said.

"I think that would be best."


	19. Two Wives

**Chapter Eight: Two Wives**

Aislynn and Tony went back to the police station after collecting evidence and taking pictures. Since McGee, McGinty, and Abby were still busy attempting to crack the codes on Lorry's GPS chip, Tony, Aislynn, and Vincenzo were left to process the evidence themselves. After a few hours of staring at her computer screen, Aislynn stood up and stretched. "I need to take a walk." Tony jumped up, and Aislynn rolled her eyes.

"So where to?" Tony asked once they were in the elevator.

"Coffee and then a waltz around Central Park," she replied. Tony nodded.

They walked to the nearest Starbucks and ordered coffee before heading off in the direction of Central Park. Minutes later, they walked through the gates. Everything looked so serene covered in snow and lit up with the first rays of morning light.

"I just realized something," Tony said, grabbing Aislynn's hand gently.

"And what's that?"

"Tomorrow's Christmas Eve."

Aislynn nodded, and they walked on in silence, holding hands and sipping their coffee. They stopped on the bridge, and Tony wrapped his arm around Aislynn's shoulders as they looked down into the water below. Half of it was frozen, but in the half that was still liquid, their faces reflected back at them. Their cheeks and noses were tinged pink from the cold. A small smile was on Tony's lips. Aislynn smiled and turned away from their reflection to face him.

"What?" he asked curiously. Aislynn enveloped him in a hug. Tony hugged her back and buried his face in her hair. "To what do I owe this honor?" he whispered.

"Thank you," Aislynn said simply.

"For what?"

"Bringing me here."

"But a combination kidnapper/rapist/murderer is after you."

"Yeah, but that's just part of the job. I missed these people. I missed this city. But I would have never come back on my own."

Tony chuckled and held her tighter.

A twig snapped off to Aislynn's left. Immediately, she broke the embrace and looked in the direction of the noise. "What was that?" she asked Tony.

"Probably just a squirrel," Tony responded.

"No squirrel is fat enough to make that loud of a snap." Aislynn stood silent and watched. A shadow moved slightly. "Someone's over there."

"It's a public park," Tony said, attempting to reassure her.

"Yes, but if it were a normal person, they would have shown themselves by now." She continued to concentrate on where the shadow had moved to. Everything was still. "Go check it out. I'll direct you to it."

"Okay." Aislynn could tell that Tony was annoyed, but he walked forward anyway.

"Eleven o'clock," she called. Tony turned slightly to the left. "Right there."

"Ace, nothing's here," Tony replied, looking into the brush.

Aislynn tried to reply, but just as she did, an arm wrapped around her neck and a hand coiled around her mouth. "Do as I say, got it?" her attacker's New York accent was strong. Aislynn nodded. "Good. Do not scream." He moved his hand away from Aislynn's mouth. "Now, Agent Rivers, you're going to come with me, okay?"

"I don't think so, Lorry," Aislynn hissed softly. "And what's with the sudden MO change?"

"I've just determined that having two lovely wives is better than just having one," the kidnapper explained.

"Well, you're not getting two, now are you?" Aislynn asked as she kicked her leg backwards and pulled Lorry's legs out from underneath him. Lorry landed on the snow-covered ground. Aislynn pulled handcuffs from her coat pocket and put them on Lorry's wrists. "Hey, Tony?" she called.

Immediately, Tony came running from the brush. "What's wrong?" he noticed Lorry lying on the ground at her feet. "Oh, hey, good job."


	20. Petty Officer Cardoza

**Chapter Nine: Petty Officer Cardoza**

After questioning Lorry, Gibbs walked out of the interrogation room. He was clearly angry. "I know that face," Tony whispered to D'Angelo, "Lorry didn't crack."

Gibbs pointed his finger at Aislynn and motioned her to him. She stood, and the two walked into the interrogation room together. Five minutes later, Aislynn walked out, a triumphant look on her face.

"What's with the smirk?" D'Angelo asked curiously.

"Let's just leave it at I love my job, okay?"

Tony raised an eyebrow. "Sounds like you and Gibbs were successful."

"Not nearly as successful as we had hoped, but it was a good session." Aislynn rubbed one of her eyes and yawned. "Gibbs is still leaning on him."

Minutes later, Gibbs walked swiftly out of the interrogation room. "My team. Cars. Now." Ziva, McGee, Tony, and Aislynn sprung up, grabbing their coats from the backs of chairs as they walked out of the station.

Gibbs drove the team through New York City, finally stopping in front of a small house in the Queensboro Hill section of Queens. They all got out of the car and walked up to the front door of the house. Gibbs motioned for McGee and Ziva to go around back. They entered the home and found the door to the basement. Gibbs, Tony, and Aislynn were the first to reach the bottom of the stairs.

There were three doors leading off the main room. Gibbs took the middle one and pointed Aislynn to the door on the right. Tony went to the door on the left. Gibbs counted to three on his fingers, and they opened the doors simultaneously. "Clear," Tony called.

"Clear," Gibbs replied.

"Guys," Aislynn walked swiftly into the room. Petty Officer Cardoza was laying in the corner of the room, bound with ropes. She was still conscious and Aislynn saw the fear in her eyes. "Relax," she said soothingly, removing the duct tape from the Petty Officer's mouth. "My name is Special Agent Rivers. I'm with NCIS."

Immediately, the woman looked relieved. "Where is he?"

"He's in custody already," Gibbs said, walking into the room and putting his phone back in his pocket. "I just called SVU. D'Angelo just read him his rights."

"Petty Officer Cardoza, this is Special Agent Gibbs. He's also with NCIS." Aislynn unbuckled her belt and retrieved her knife. "I'm going to cut the ropes now, okay?" The woman nodded and Aislynn took the knife to the rope, cutting it easily.

Gibbs helped the Petty Officer stand. They took her back to the police station, where Ducky examined her. As it turned out, Lorry had violently raped her, which was no surprise as it was part of his MO.


	21. Breaking the GibbsCycle

**Chapter Ten: Breaking the Gibbs-Cycle**

"There. Good as new," Aislynn said, putting the final pillow in place. She and Tony had spent the better part of the night cleaning their hotel room. She flopped back on the bed in exhaustion. Lorry had been booked earlier that day, and Petty Officer Cardoza was safe. She had not had sufficient sleep.

Tony lay down beside her. She snuggled into his chest, and he kissed the top of her head. "Ace?"

"Mmm?" Aislynn mumbled into his chest.

"Can I ask you something?"

"Of course." She pulled away so she could see his face.

"Was Lorry right?"

"What?" Aislynn was confused.

"With what he had written on the wall. I think he's right."

"You mean that I'm too good for you?" Tony nodded. "Please, Tony. Of course he wasn't right."

"Then why do I feel like he is?"

"What do you mean?"

"You deserve so much more than me. You're so smart and I'm not."

"But-"

Tony interrupted her. "I don't know. I just feel like you deserve someone that can give you something more than… what I can."

Aislynn wrapped her arms around his neck. "Tony, listen to me. I'm not that great. I'm a bitch to most people. I follow too much in my uncle's footsteps." She sighed. "You're the first person I've ever met that I care enough about to break the Gibbs-cycle."

"The Gibbs-cycle?" Tony questioned, chuckling.

"Yeah. You know, the whole 'I'm alone so I'm going to make myself miserable and stay in my basement all the time' thing?"

Tony laughed. "Right."

Aislynn leaned toward Tony and kissed him. When they broke apart, he pulled her closer, enveloping her in a tight embrace.

"Tony? I have a stupid question."

"Shoot," he mumbled into her hair.

"Do you think you're too got for me?"

"What?" Tony asked, astonished.

"It's just... I-I understand if you don't, you know, find me attractive, but... I don't know," Aislynn stammered, attempting to put her thoughts into words. "I just don't get why you've led me on for four months if you don't want me."

Tony was silent for a few minutes, looking at Aislynn in utter confusion. His mouth opened and closed a few times before he was finally able to speak. "What on earth are you talking about?"

"Well... it's stupid, but I don't know, I mean, you slept with that woman in Ocean City, right?" Tony nodded slowly. "And you didn't even know her. Like, at all. And yet, we've been dating for four months now and nothing since after you got out of the hospital."

"Look, Ace," Tony started, moving a strand of hair out of her eyes, "I lo-" he stopped, almost as if choking on the word and restarted. "I care about you, really, I do. I don't want to push you, though. You mean a hell of a lot more to me than some silly one night stand with a model."

"You know, if I were just listening to you talk, I would have sworn that you were a teenage boy saying things just to get laid," Aislynn commented, half-smiling.

"Maybe I am, maybe I'm not," Tony chuckled.

"So, what you're saying is you're a teenager?"

"That's precisely what I'm saying," Tony whispered, leaning down to kiss her.


End file.
